JSU Seeks Participants for Library of Congress Veterans History Project

05/26/2015


Navy corpsman gives drink to wounded marine on Guam / official U.S. Navy photo. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. July 1944.

Every veteran has a story. Jacksonville State University wants yours.

This summer, JSU’s Research Center for Veteran Support Services (RCVSS), in conjunction with the American Red Cross, will conduct a Veterans History Project (VHP) pilot program. Created by Congress in 2000 as part of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, the VHP collects, preserves and makes accessible the personal accounts of American wartime veterans so that future generations may hear their stories and better understand the realities of war.

We are reaching out to JSU faculty, staff, students and alumni to be interviewed on campus as part of the pilot project during the months of June-August. Later, we anticipate the project will be implemented as service learning projects in classrooms across campus.

Who is eligible to participate? U.S. military veterans who served in any capacity from World War I through the present and who are no longer serving are eligible to participate. Civilians who served in support of a U.S. war effort in a professional capacity also are welcome to participate.

Why participate? As a primary source, researchers, scholars and educators rely upon VHP collections. These oral histories are a rich supplement to historical texts and a valued cultural resource. 

How to participate? Sit down with one of the RCVSS team members and record a videotaped interview about your military service. All interviews must be at least 30 minutes in length and cannot be edited in any way. We also encourage you to bring along any memorabilia you would like to have displayed during the interview. 

The Veterans History Project Field Kit offers particulars of the program and should answer any questions you may have.  The RCVSS will cover all costs involved with the project and you will receive a copy of the interview on DVD. 

To schedule your interview or receive additional information, please email Allison L. Newton or call 256-782-5108.

wwII2We look forward to hearing from you and scheduling your interview.  We are very excited about this project and preserving the personal accounts of the military experiences of our JSU veterans.

About the photo: Part of the cowling for one of the motors for a B-25 bomber is assembled in the engine department of North American [Aviation, Inc.]'s Inglewood, California, plant. Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. U.S. Office of War Information, Alfred T. Palmer, photographer, October, 1942.